'I'm Gonna … Poison Her A— Slowly': University of Michigan Students and Graduates Charged by Feds With Violent, Anti-Israel Plot To Terrorize University, Jews

The Justice Department on Wednesday indicted eight young anti-Israel activists, most of whom studied or worked at the University of Michigan, for orchestrating a criminal plot "to terrorize government officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation" of Detroit. The defendants, many of them known campus agitators, targeted the homes of university officials and intended to use "poison, bombs, and psychological torture" on their targets.

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The 'Big Brother' surveillance law everyone in Washington hates for different reasons is expiring



Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — the law that allows the government to spy on foreign targets overseas, including their communications with Americans — has a looming deadline.

Supporters call it essential to national security. Critics call it "Big Brother."

'FISA needs serious reform. Full stop.'

The House Freedom Caucus launched a #DontSpyOnMe campaign, demanding, in accordance with the Fourth Amendment, a warrant before the government can query Americans' data in Section 702 collection.

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), one of the effort's loudest voices, was blunt on X: "The government has no right to your private communications without a warrant. FISA needs serious reform. Full stop."

"The Freedom Caucus is America First more than anyone else, as far as I'm concerned," Self added.

RELATED: The FBI should get a warrant before reading your messages

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

For most Democrats, the objection isn't about the law itself — it's about who Trump tapped to oversee the intelligence agencies involved with it.

On June 2, Trump named Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence — the official who oversees all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. Pulte replaces Tulsi Gabbard, who announced she was resigning effective June 30. Confirmed as Federal Housing Finance Agency director in March 2025, Pulte will hold both roles simultaneously.

When pressed on Pulte's lack of any intelligence or national security experience, Trump was unfazed. "I think he does, actually, because he's smart," he said. "I wasn't greatly experienced in national security, and I think I've done a really great job with it."

At the FHFA, Pulte referred several anti-Trump Democrats and government officials — including New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), and Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook — to the Justice Department for alleged fraud.

The Government Accountability Office opened an investigation into whether Pulte misused federal authority to do so. As DNI, critics argue, he would have far more power to continue targeting Democrats.

The backlash to his appointment was swift and bipartisan. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) put it plainly: "We don't need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there," and the Senate voted 47-52 against a motion to proceed on the FISA extension, with six Republicans crossing the aisle to kill it.

Punchbowl News reported that Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) privately warned Thune: no Pulte withdrawal, no Democratic votes for FISA.

Trump, for his part, has pushed for a clean extension — but finds himself boxed in on all sides.

Congress has already passed two short-term extensions of the surveillance program this spring — the last one, in April, bought just 45 days.

Something has to give before June 12 — the White House blinks on Pulte, the Freedom Caucus gets its warrant requirement, or Congress slaps on another emergency patch.

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Cleveland Clinic settles with Trump's DOJ over allegations it covered up 'gender-affirming care'



The Justice Department announced a settlement with the Cleveland Clinic to end "gender-affirming care" at the clinic for two decades, according to a press release.

The clinic also agreed to pay a fine of $308,000 after it was accused of misrepresenting the gender-transitioning care in order to secure insurance coverage.

The hospital called the criticism inaccurate and false and claimed that it did not perform gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 18 years old.

The clinic will also put up $2 million worth of restorative care for people wanting to detransition.

"The Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to protecting America's children. ... Today's resolution with Cleveland Clinic furthers that commitment and puts these providers on notice that this Department will vigorously enforce federal law where children are put at risk," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said.

The DOJ compared the settlement to one previously reached with the Texas Children's Hospital. The hospital agreed to end sex-rejecting procedures to minors and pay a $10 million penalty.

"These historic commitments pair the cessation of these dangerous practices masquerading as medical treatment with substantial investments in remediating the destruction they cause and restoring the health of the victims," the DOJ said in its press release.

The Cleveland Clinic was bashed by Consumers' Research in 2025 for being one of the most woke hospitals in the U.S. The hospital called the criticism inaccurate and false and claimed that it did not perform gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 18 years old.

RELATED: Boston Children's Hospital scrubs videos touting 'gender-affirming hysterectomies' for young girls after online criticism

"I am grateful that institutions like Cleveland Clinic and Texas Children's have decided to be part of the solution, not part of the problem," said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.

"Cleveland Clinic's commitment to providing millions of dollars towards care for detransitioners is emblematic of just that," Shumate added. "I am grateful for this resolution with Cleveland Clinic, but our work is far from over, and our division will continue to work tirelessly to protect America's children and hold accountable those that have preyed on vulnerable children, whether they be pharmaceutical companies or medical providers."

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Trump DOJ files to strip Jamaican fraudster, Indian H-1B scammer, Haitian pervert, and 14 others of US citizenship



Federal officials filed a total of 305 denaturalization cases between 1990 and 2017 — an average of 11 per year. Like the first, the second Trump administration appears keen to make those previous numbers look like child's play.

The Trump Justice Department announced on Monday that it filed denaturalization actions in a handful of federal courts against 17 individuals accused of various crimes including child sex abuse and fraud.

'American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly.'

Those now facing the possibility of having their U.S. citizenship revoked hail from various nations including China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Haiti, India, Jamaica, and Somalia.

"When criminal aliens exploit the naturalization process by breaking the law, there are consequences," acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement obtained by Blaze News.

"Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters," continued Blanche. "Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege, and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process."

Among those targeted under this leg of the administration's denaturalization campaign is 50-year-old Neeraj Sharma, a native of India who ran a staffing company in New Jersey, where he filed 11fraudulent H-1B visa petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Sharma, who became a U.S. citizen in late 2017, has been convicted of fraud and misuse of visas. The DOJ seeks to strip him of his citizenship for having allegedly "procured his naturalization by: (1) failing to disclose unlawful acts; (2) providing false testimony; and (3) concealment of a material fact and willful misrepresentation."

RELATED: The case for denaturalization

Joshua Lott/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Foreigners who manage to naturalize can have their citizenship revoked in civil proceedings under Section 1451(a) of Title 8 of the U.S. Code if a court finds that the certificate of naturalization and citizenship order were either "illegally procured or were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation."

To establish that an individual illegally procured citizenship, the government must show that "the naturalized citizen must have misrepresented or concealed some fact, the misrepresentation or concealment must have been willful, the fact must have been material, and the naturalized citizen must have procured citizenship as a result of the misrepresentation or concealment," according to the U.S. Supreme Court.

There are other grounds for denaturalization, including affiliation with an organization that is opposed to organized government or favors totalitarian forms of government; conviction of criminal contempt for refusing to testify before Congress on alleged "subversive activities"; and dishonorable discharge from the military, if naturalization was conditional on service in the military, reported the Congressional Research Service.

Jamaican native Talman Harris is also facing possible denaturalization. Harris was found guilty in 2016 of wire fraud and conspiring to commit securities fraud and wire fraud and sentenced to prison the following year for his role in a penny-stock fraud scheme that resulted in a $39 million loss to investors. This scheme took place over an eight-year period, including during Harris' naturalization proceedings.

The DOJ alleges that during the period in which Harris was pursuing naturalization, "he was statutorily required to demonstrate good moral character, he committed a crime involving moral turpitude, committed unlawful acts that adversely reflected on his moral character, and falsely testified about his crime."

Armando Medoza, a 39-year-old originally from Mexico, might also be sent packing for claiming during his naturalization application and interview that he had never committed a crime or offense for which he hadn't been arrested when in fact he had been receiving sexually explicit images of children for years — a crime to which he pleaded guilty years later.

Another pair of depraved individuals on the DOJ's denaturalization list are Jean Claude Alfred, a 68-year-old Haitian native convicted in 1996 of sexually abusing his minor daughter at the same time that he was pursuing naturalization, and Tahir Lekaj, a 43-year-old from Yugoslavia who was convicted of sexually abusing a young child the year before he applied to naturalize.

Abdikadir Ali Kadiye's days as an American citizen may also be numbered. The Somali native admitted to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent that he had used two identities for admission to the country, according to the DOJ. After he was unable to secure immigration benefits under one name, Kadiye tried again, this time with some success.

"American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly. If you come here, break our laws, and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit that privilege," said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "DHS will not stand idly by while Americans are harmed by criminals including sex offenders, perpetrators of fraud, and drug traffickers who have exploited our generosity and gamed our immigration system."

There have been signals in recent months that the Trump administration intends to file far more denaturalization actions in the coming months.

For instance, internal guidance reportedly issued to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices obtained by the New York Times in December asked that they "supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases per month" throughout the remainder of fiscal year 2026.

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Todd Blanche At DOJ Should Mean Accountability For The Media’s Russia Hoax And So Much More

Something that the dying news media like to do is frame President Trump’s concerns with the Justice Department as though they’re animated solely by personal vendetta, rather than legitimate matters of law and order that affect everyone. Look at how they’re reacting to the president nominating Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general. The New […]

Mercedes, Bentley, and McLaren cars seized in BUST of $30 million Medicaid fraud scheme, feds say



Federal prosecutors said that four suspects turned themselves in after an investigation into a $30 million Medicaid fraud scheme.

Two Ohio state employees and two co-conspirators were indicted in the scheme that fraudulently billed the federal government for children's behavioral health services, according to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

'These initial suspensions mark a critical step forward in ensuring accountability and deterring abuse within the Medicaid system.'

Two of the defendants falsely claimed to provide the medical services through behavioral health organizations that they owned and operated, according to Blanche.

The four suspects were hit with 32 counts in the indictment.

The fake services provided included behavioral therapy and psychotherapy for young people who attended summer camps, church groups, and recreational programs. They allegedly diagnosed the kids with a behavioral adjustment disorder, but no tests were performed, and the children received no actual care.

Among the 14 luxury vehicles seized in the investigation were a Maserati, six Mercedes Benz, a Jaguar, a Bentley, and a McLaren.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel added that $600,000 was seized through seven bank accounts.

The investigation was a part of the administration's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance.

"It is disgusting that fraudsters were allowed to deprive essential developmental services from American children in need," a spokesperson for Vance said to CBS News.

"Countless lives could have been made better by the millions of tax dollars stolen, but instead they were used to purchase luxury cars," the spokesperson added. "This is another example of the type of fraud the vice president's task force is putting a stop to."

RELATED: Newsom lashes out at report of MASSIVE fraud in California

Also on Thursday, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's administration announced the suspension of Medicaid payments to 49 businesses providing home health care that were flagged for waste, fraud, or abuse.

"These initial suspensions mark a critical step forward in ensuring accountability and deterring abuse within the Medicaid system," said the Ohio Department of Medicaid Director Scott Partika. "We will continue using advanced analytics and enforceable action to protect Ohioans and preserve program integrity."

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Trump names his pick for attorney general — but Democrats vow to thwart confirmation



President Donald Trump ousted Pam Bondi from the attorney general role on April 2, then announced that "very talented and respected Legal Mind" Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney, would be stepping in to serve as acting attorney general.

In the months since, several names have been floated as possible long-term picks for the position, including EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), and Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas.

The president announced his choice of nominee at a private White House Rose Garden dinner on Wednesday: acting AG Blanche.

In a video shared to social media by deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Trump said, "Tomorrow I’m instructing Dan and everybody else that’s involved in that very complicated process, which is gonna go, I think, very quickly, that we are going to make him permanent attorney general."

Democrats wasted no time condemning Trump's choice of candidate and vowing to block Blanche's confirmation.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told CNN's Laura Coates on Wednesday evening that Blanche doesn't have enough votes in the Senate to be confirmed, then characterized the acting AG as inexperienced.

RELATED: 'We cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life': Trump makes big announcement about WHCD

Gage Skidmore/Getty Images

"This is a man that has been involved in investigating the chairman of the Fed, investigating former people that the president has perceived as his enemies. And they're weaponizing that agency. They've even gone after United States senators," said Booker.

"His only qualification, which seems to be all that President Trump wants from people, is that they are willing to do his bidding and they will act like his own personal attorneys, which he was, and not like somebody upholding the highest law enforcement office in the land," continued Booker.

So far under the leadership of acting AG Blanche, the Justice Department has made progress on several fronts, securing, for instance, indictments against disgraced former FBI Director James Comey, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and former Cuban President Raul Castro; creating the National Fraud Enforcement Division; and addressing the fallout of the Biden administration's government weaponization efforts.

After Coates pointed out that Blanche "does have legal experience, obviously" — noting that he has been a prosecutor, has worked in a law firm, and has already been tested as acting AG — Booker insinuated that some of his Republican colleagues are similarly uncertain about Trump's pick, adding, "This is not a serious person."

Having ironed out his talking points on CNN, Booker later said more of the same on MS NOW.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) melted down over the announcement, stating, "Corrupt & compromised by feckless Trump fealty, Blanche is a nonstarter as AG."

"There's no way we should confirm an AG who will continue as Trump's personal lawyer, not the people's," added Blumenthal.

While Democrats have cast doubt on whether the Senate will confirm Blanche, it confirmed him as deputy attorney general last year in 52-46 vote.

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SPLC Paid KKK Members Who ‘Wanted Out’ To Stay With Racist Group, DOJ Says

Per the DOJ, an SPLC employee 'encouraged F-31 and F-32 to stay in the movement and offered to pay them a $1,200.00 monthly salary as well as to pay for expenses as incurred.'

Foreign 'Fauci acolyte' and his African crony charged with smuggling monkeypox onto American soil



A pair of foreigners employed at a controversial U.S. biolab were charged on Tuesday with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox onto American soil and giving false statements to federal law enforcement.

Vincent Munster — a 53-year-old Dutch citizen who is the chief of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a National Institutes of Health Biosafety Level 4 research facility in Hamilton, Montana — and one of his underlings, a 38-year-old Cameroonian national named Claude Kwe, were caught by Customs and Border Patrol officials with a black case allegedly full of viral materials at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Jan. 25.

'This is bigger than a customs charge.'

The duo allegedly told CBP agents that the case — which they had traveled with from the Congo, where a major monkeypox outbreak was underway — contained diagnostics and testing equipment. Federal agents discovered, however, that the case actually contained 113 vials in Styrofoam containers, the Justice Department said in a release.

According to the DOJ, an FBI analysis of 20 of the 113 vials showed that 17 contained deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained the chickenpox virus, and two contained human DNA.

Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus in the same genus as the virus that causes smallpox. While endemic in various African regions, monkeypox made a global play in early 2022. In nearly all Western cases, the disease affects and is spread by homosexuals.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that of the 528 infections diagnosed between April 27 and June 24, 2022, 98% of those infected were homosexuals and that "transmission was suspected to have occurred through sexual activity in 95% of the persons with infection."

Individuals infected with monkeypox often experience a painful rash that can look like pimples or blisters, respiratory problems, exhaustion, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and chills. The disease can be spread via respiratory droplets, through "direct contact with a rash or sores of someone who has the virus," and through "contact with clothing, bedding, and other items used by a person" with the virus.

RELATED: Gain-of-function experiments on hantaviruses? Yes, but virus threat is still MASSIVELY overblown.

Vincent Munster. NIAID.

Emily Hilliard, a senior Health and Human Services press secretary, told Blaze News that the NIH, which owns Rocky Mountain Laboratories, is cooperating fully with law enforcement and the relevant authorities regarding the case against Munster and Kwe.

Hilliard noted further that the NIH was made aware of the incident at the Detroit airport in January, and agency leaders "immediately activated established agency protocols to safeguard related laboratory facilities, research materials, and biological samples."

These measures apparently included "securing relevant laboratory spaces, restricting access to affected areas, and conducting a comprehensive audit and inventory assessment to verify that all materials were appropriately accounted for, documented, and maintained in accordance with all relevant biosafety policies, requirements, and procedures."

U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. of the Eastern District of Michigan said of the alleged monkeypox smuggling attempt, "These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo. Let that sink in."

"Any deliberate effort to conceal and smuggle biological materials into the United States without proper authorization is a breach of the public’s trust and could have placed the public at risk," stated Marcus Sykes, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

Munster and Kwe each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Neither the researchers nor the HHS responded to a request for comment from Blaze News.

Dr. Richard H. Ebright of Rutgers University alleged of the suspect, "Munster exemplifies the dishonesty, the disregard for biosafety, the disdain for law, and the contempt for the public interest that — after four decades of Anthony Fauci having treated virology as his personal fief and power base — have become pervasive in virology."

Dr. Robert Malone, a biochemist who recently served on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, emphasized that "this is bigger than a customs charge."

"Why does Munster's name matter? In April 2024, Sen. Rand Paul released documents showing Rocky Mountain Laboratories — Munster's facility — was listed as a participant in EcoHealth Alliance's DEFUSE proposal. The same proposal DARPA rejected for posing unacceptable biosafety risks," wrote Malone. "DEFUSE contemplated experiments on novel bat coronaviruses, spike protein manipulation, and insertion of furin cleavage sites. DARPA said no. But NIAID kept funding the same research ecosystem — EcoHealth, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the same scientific objectives. Then COVID emerged in Wuhan."

Munster is currently listed as a senior investigator with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' virus ecology section. In recent years, he has worked on and researched numerous viruses, including SARS-COV-2, the virus behind COVID-19.

Kwe is a research fellow with the NIH's intramural research program.

The two of them have worked together on monkeypox research and are listed as co-authors of a February 2026 study assessing "the risk of clade Ib mpox and our preparedness."

RELATED: 'NIAID cannot be trusted': Fauci's agency planned to make monkeypox more deadly, says congressional report

Monkeypox. NIH-NIAID/Image Point FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty Images.

They concluded in their study that "the emergence and current co-circulation of clade Ia, Ib, and clade IIb in Africa, and recent spread of clade Ib mpox in the U.S, Europe, and Asia is a reminder that emerging infectious diseases are global issues that require timely coordinated response."

The foreign researchers noted further that "the global spread of clade IIb and Ib should also be recognized as sentinel events, highlighting essential gaps in pandemic preparedness."

The criminal charges against Munster and Kwe come just weeks after White Coat Waste Project — a watchdog that helped expose EcoHealth Alliance's and former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci's ties to the gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology — obtained and published a damning whistleblower report detailing Munster and Kwe's alleged attempt to smuggle foreign viruses onto American soil.

The whistleblower characterized Munster as a "Fauci acolyte and all around egotistical, arrogant foreigner that joined his research project (to aerosolize covid virus) to Ralph Baric's project (to weaponize it)."

Baric, a professor in the departments of epidemiology and microbiology at the University of North Carolina, is a leading proponent of gain-of-function research who successfully fought for an exemption from the Obama administration's moratorium on the dangerous practice in order to keep manufacturing artificial SARS-like viruses.

In response to a request for comment, Baric directed Blaze News to UNC, which did not immediately respond.

The whistleblower went on to claim that after Detroit authorities "found dozens of vials" in Munster's baggage in January, the NIH "went into full cover-up mode."

Rocky Mountain Laboratories has also been home to additional scandals in recent months.

The NIH recently confirmed to the Ravalli Republic that in November 2025, the facility was exposed to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, which has a fatality rate of 30% or higher.

"At no time was there any evidence of disease transmission or infection, nor was there ever any risk to staff, caregivers, or the public," said the NIH.

According to the whistleblower, that "exposure" was the result of an infected monkey "that was being tortured (infected and sickened with no pain mitigation) as an experiment for Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever."

The NIH did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment about the whistleblower's allegations.

On Feb. 18, RML also filed a federal "release/loss/theft" form. An NIH spokesman said it was done "in response to a potential exposure to Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus due to a hole in a glove that occurred while changing cages of laboratory mice."

"There was no release outside of the lab and at no time was there any risk to the public," said the spokesman.

Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana, citing the whistleblower complaint, asked HHS Inspector General March Bell in a May 26 letter to launch a formal investigation "into the safety, security, and personnel practices at RML" and raised alarm about Munster's souvenirs from the Congo.

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Washington Nationals under fire after anti-Christian public relations disaster EXPOSED



The Washington Nationals are in hot water over a player who dares to stand up for his Christian faith.

James O'Keefe's guerrilla journalism outfit published undercover footage on Tuesday featuring an apparent admission by the Washington Nationals' director of community relations that the team has avoided using pitcher Trevor Williams in Nationals social media content on account of his criticism of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — a group that mocks the Catholic Church, its rituals and beliefs, and its nuns.

Background

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a San Francisco-based radical group that touts itself as a "leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns."

'The public has a right to know whether that view is tolerated, encouraged, or operationalized by the organization.'

Since its inception on Easter Sunday 1979, the SPI — whose motto is "go forth and sin some more," an inversion of Christ's command — has ridiculed Catholic teaching and doctrine, mocking the church's orthodox views on marriage, sexuality, transgenderism, and abortion.

This anti-Christian group regularly holds "Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary" contests; held a "condom savior mass"; saw one of its members arrested for allegedly masturbating in public; routinely mocks the crucifixion; participated in drag shows targeting children; and according to Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, once "tricked an archbishop into giving them the Eucharist — the most important sacrament of the Catholic faith — so they could defile it."

Pitcher Trevor Williams, who is Catholic, was among the handful of players in the Major League Baseball league who spoke out in 2023 after the L.A. Dodgers decided to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a "Community Hero Award" for "their countless hours of community service, ministry, and outreach to those on the edges, in addition to promoting human rights and respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment."

RELATED: Five standout denunciations and warnings in Pope Leo XIV's new papal encyclical

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

"A Major League Baseball game is a place where people from all walks of life should feel welcomed, something I greatly respect and support. This is the purpose of different themed nights hosted by the organization, including Pride Night," wrote Williams on May 30, 2023.

"To invite and honor a group that makes a blatant and deeply offensive mockery of my religion, and the religion of over 4 million people in Los Angeles county alone, undermines the values of respect and inclusivity that should be upheld by any organization," added the pitcher.

"I believe it is essential for the Dodgers to reconsider their association with this group and strive to create an inclusive environment that does not demean or disrespect the religious beliefs of any fan or employee," Williams continued. "I also encourage my fellow Catholics to reconsider their support of an organization that allows this type of mockery of its fans to occur."

Blacklisted

Sean Hudson, the community relations director whose LinkedIn page was recently deleted, appears to tell an undercover reporter in the footage published by James O'Keefe that Trevor Williams "is very Catholic."

"He's super Catholic — all these tattoos that mean a lot," Hudson appears to say. "But last year, I don't understand the full scope, the Dodgers had a group out to the stadium who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. ... He went on like a social media like — 'this is wrong, this is my religion, you all are mocking it.'"

"So we don't use him," continued Hudson. "Because of that, we don't use him on social."

Later in the video, Hudson appears to state, "If you're a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you going to go?"

The Washington Nationals X account does not appear to have referenced Williams since September 2025 and has only sporadically made mention of him since he criticized the SPI in 2023.

Neither the MLB nor the Washington Nationals responded to Blaze News' request for comment.

O'Keefe's journalism outfit suggested that Hudson's "admission raises legal questions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which explicitly prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on religion, including limiting their opportunities or visibility due to sincerely held beliefs."

When later confronted by conservative commentator Alex Stein about his claim, Hudson said, "That doesn't sound like something I would say."

The team, however, told EWTN News that it was "aware of comments made by an employee, which were recorded without the employee’s knowledge and disseminated without his permission."

"The statements are not only factually incorrect, but do not reflect the views, opinions, or actions of the Washington Nationals," the team said in its statement. "The Nationals are dedicated to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for our players, fans, and staff, and we vehemently deny any allegations to the contrary."

Backlash

Kelsey Reinhardt, the CEO of CatholicVote, wrote to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon on Wednesday, urging the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to "investigate possible unlawful religious discrimination by the Washington Nationals Baseball Club against pitcher Trevor Williams."

Reinhardt suggested that if Hudson's remarks are accurate, an MLB "franchise may have taken an adverse employment-related action, reputational action, promotional action, or workplace action against a player because of his religion and his sincere public expression of Catholic belief."

"This matter is not merely a private dispute between an athlete and his employer," said Reinhardt. "The Washington Nationals are a Major League Baseball franchise in the nation's capital. Their conduct sends a public message. If a senior executive of such an organization believes that a player should be excluded from official team communications because he is 'very Catholic' and because he defended Catholics from religious mockery, then the public has a right to know whether that view is tolerated, encouraged, or operationalized by the organization."

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.) has also asked the DOJ to take "decisive action."

Williams, who hasn't posted on X since 2023 and hasn't posted on Instagram since January, said in an Instagram post on Friday, "The first reading from today comes from 1 Peter 4:7-13. The writer of this epistle is addressing newly baptized Christians, reminding them that they are holy and they should act like it. This entire chapter really addresses the social costs of the faith — not necessarily persecution, but the sometimes awkward 'ehh I don’t do that anymore.'"

"As my friend Fr. Joshua said 'Sometimes we lean into it and bravely bear witness to Christ’s truth; sometimes we dodge it and regret it later, feeling we’ve let Jesus down,'" continued Williams. "Therefore Christians are called in those moments to love, to suffer, and to sacrifice, for when we act like Christ in those moments, we imitate Jesus. We even share in the merciful work of Jesus when we choose to act like him in the face of even the smallest insult."

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